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Avoid Costly HVAC Repair With These Tips

Posted on August 16, 2017 at 3:17 pm.

Time will come that your AC will need repair, and it’s frustrating. But do know what’s more frustrating? It’s when you realize that you could have prevented the early breakdown of your unit with proper maintenance. Learn how to avoid costly HVAC repair with these smart tips from Kirk.

Give routine care to the outside of your unit.

One common mistake committed by HVAC owners is ignoring the outside of their unit. Regardless whether it’s out of sight, it’s advisable to clean around the outside of your AC. When replacing the air filters, perform a visual check on the outside unit and clear from leaves and vines or anything that gets in the way.

Clean/Replace your air filter.

When cleaning your reusable air filters, be sure to focus on removing dirt and dander. For replaceable air filters, check with the manufacturer how frequent should you swap them out. Typically, air filters need to be changed once in every one to three months.

Maintain with dusting and vacuuming.

Keeping up with your unit with dusting and vacuuming significantly reduces the amount of dust and dirt in your home. It will not just keep your AC maintain its operational efficiency, but it will also improve your indoor air quality.

Invest in a programmable thermostat.

If you’re still using the traditional type of thermostat for your home, it’s time to be much smarter about your indoor comfort. Programmable thermostats are very easy to use and they give you a better control of your indoor temperature, regardless whether you’re at home or away.

Sign up for professional maintenance.

One of the most effective ways to prevent costly AC repair is to sign up for professional HVAC maintenance. Your local contractor will conduct a yearly inspection on your air conditioning unit to ensure that it’s up and running all year round. Talk to your Kirk contractor for HVAC maintenance.

For your air conditioning needs, don’t hesitate to call the experts at Kirk Air Conditioning.

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When winter hits, there’s one area that we often wish was warmer than it is; the garage. If you have a detached garage that houses your vehicles or workshop, you may want to consider looking at a garage heater. These can not only make the air in the building warmer and more comfortable, but it can actually help when it comes to warming up the car or truck in the morning. We offer a wide selection of electric and gas garage heating systems.

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CO detectors can protect your family from deadly carbon monoxide gas. Fuel-burning appliances such as oil and gas furnaces, gas water heaters, gas ranges and ovens, gas dryers, gas or kerosene space heaters, fireplaces and wood stoves are all sources of carbon monoxide.

A monitored carbon monoxide detector will alert you if high levels of this deadly gas are detected. Local building ordinances require the installation of carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

Ultraviolet light kills bacteria and mold growing on your indoor coil before they are circulated throughout your home. UV lamps are installed near your existing indoor coil and work diligently to rid your home of the bacteria, viruses, mold and germs that impact your home’s health. We install 1 or 2 lights per indoor coil, depending on the size of the coil.

Ventilators bring fresh air into your home without losing heating or cooling energy. Their unique energy exchange system transfers the heating or cooling energy from the stale air being exhausted from your home to the fresh air the ventilator brings into your home.

If your family suffers from allergies, ventilators are a much better alternative for introducing fresh air into your home verses opening your windows. They also do a great job of reducing cooking and pet odors, smoke and other pollutants out of your home.

Humidifiers work in tandem with your furnace system to deliver desired humidity levels throughout your home. Maintaining proper humidity levels in your home is essential to maintaining indoor comfort during the winter months. Moderate humidity levels make you feel warmer at lower temperatures, which means you can set your thermostat lower without sacrificing comfort.

Depending on the size of your home, we offer a variety of humidifiers to deliver the right amount of moisture into the air. Sizing of humidifiers is measured in Gallons Per Day (GPD), and we offer models from 12 GPD to 18 GPD.

Air cleaners effectively remove bacteria, pollen, animal dander and other pollutants as small as 0.01 microns. That’s 18,000 times smaller than the head of a pin. The higher the Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV), the more efficiently the cleaner removes particles. We offer air cleaners that range from MERV 10 to MERV 15 to meet your needs. For those families that have severe allergies, we also offer Whole House High Efficiency Particulate Arresting (HEPA) filtration systems.

Zoning can provide optimum comfort with increased energy savings in your home by dividing a home into areas with similar heating and cooling needs and independently controlling the temperature in each area. Much like multiple light switches that independently control lighting in different rooms, with zoning, multiple zone thermostats or sensors control temperature in different areas of the home. Contact us for an in-home evaluation and estimate.

Thermostats are used to turn on heating or cooling systems to bring the home to a set temperature. In addition to basic temperature control, programmable thermostats can be used to manage the indoor environment of your home at different times of the day or week. This type of control can have a dramatic impact on the overall energy use of your home. We carry a complete line of thermostats. Let us help you choose the one that best matches your lifestyle.

Room air conditioners make your home’s individual rooms or other small spaces more comfortable. Remember, just like whole-home systems, the higher the SEER and HSPF ratings, the more efficient they will be.

We offer a variety of window room air conditioners, through-the-wall packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC) and ductless heating and cooling systems to meet any individual room’s needs.

Room air conditioners make your home’s individual rooms or other small spaces more comfortable. Remember, just like whole-home systems, the higher the SEER and HSPF ratings, the more efficient they will be.

We offer a variety of window room air conditioners, through-the-wall packaged terminal air conditioners (PTAC) and ductless heating and cooling systems to meet any individual room’s needs.

The Earth absorbs almost 50% of all solar energy and remains a constant temperature of 50°F to 70°F depending on geographical location. A geothermal unit utilizes this constant temperature for heating and cooling your home.

You can realize up to 60% energy savings vs. traditional systems. There is no flame, no flue, no odors and no loud outdoor equipment. Heating, air conditioning and hot water can all be attained from a single compact unit.

With a traditional heating and cooling system, if you wanted to save more, you had to use less. But a Hybrid Heat system combines the benefits of intelligent control for both gas and electric heating to create an intuitive system that can actually react to changing conditions. No matter what the temperature is outside, a Hybrid Heat system will automatically select the fuel source most efficient for your home, which means you’ll stay warm in the winter, cool in the summer and save money all year long. To design a Hybrid Heat system for your home, we professionally match one of our heat pump units with a natural gas furnace. Contact us to see how much energy you can save over your existing system.

These self-contained systems are located outside of the home, mounted on the ground or the roof, and ducted into the home.

Just like individual furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps, these package units carry SEER, AFUE and HSPF ratings. The higher the rating, the more energy efficient the unit is. We carry a wide offering that includes advanced features such as 2-stage compressors, variable speed fans and quiet operation.

The fan coil is the indoor component of a heat pump system. It includes the fan and the heating/cooling coil. The fan coil is designed for a particular refrigerant, so it must be matched with the heat pump or air conditioner.

We offer many fan coils with variable and multi-speed features that can provide enhanced indoor comfort by slowly ramping up to your thermostat setting rather than simply turning on at full speed. This alleviates the “cold air blow” often associated with single speed fan coils, and dramatically reduces system noise.

Today’s new high efficiency furnaces can save up to 50% in operating costs over a ten-year-old furnace. Many 1990 and earlier model furnaces have Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratings of 65% or less. The minimum AFUE rated furnace that can be sold in the United States today is 80%.

Our current product offering starts at 80% AFUE and goes all the way to a very efficient 96.6% AFUE rating. Depending on your average usage, higher AFUE rated furnaces can significantly reduce your gas bill.

We offer many furnaces with variable and multi-speed features that can provide enhanced indoor comfort by slowly ramping up to your thermostat setting rather than simply turning on at full speed. This alleviates the “cold air blow” often associated with single speed furnaces, and dramatically reduces system noise.

Heat pumps are a great solution for your home comfort system because they work to provide both heating and cooling. Heat pumps have SEER ratings like air conditioners and Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) ratings for measuring heating efficiency. Higher SEER and HSPF ratings mean greater energy savings.

Heat pumps are a very efficient alternative to electric heat. A heat pump works the same as an air conditioner in the summer, but it runs in reverse in the winter to heat your home. The system will be matched with a backup heating source, most often electric heat for those extremely cold days of winter.

Just like our air conditioners, many of our heat pumps have advanced features, such as 2-stage compressors and variable speed fan operation. These features not only improve the comfort level of your home, but can provide additional energy savings as well.

Air conditioners may look similar, but their Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating (SEER) can vary widely. Higher SEER numbers save more money spent on electricity. A 13 SEER air conditioner, the EPA “current minimum standard”, uses 23% less energy then a 10 SEER unit (EPA standard up until Jan. 2006). Even though 13 SEER is the minimum efficiency available, we currently offer a line of air conditioners that start at 13 SEER and go all the way up to a 20 SEER. Depending on your average usage, higher SEER air conditioners can significantly reduce your electric bill.

Additionally, we offer many air conditioners that have advanced features, such as 2-stage compressors and variable speed fan operation. These features not only improve the comfort level of your home, but can provide additional energy savings as well.